Chapter 3: Interested

“Suzuki, you’re quite a famous figure here at Aoyama Saint Academy.”

Inside the Student Council Room, Jingu Tenon skillfully brewed two cups of coffee—one for herself and one for Suzuki Yu. Sitting across from each other, they naturally struck up a conversation.

Whether it was because he hadn’t slept well, or perhaps because the words from her mouth were simply too shocking, Suzuki Yu’s mind was a mess. The apology he had carefully prepared evaporated, and now, he couldn’t get a single word out.

Was it really possible for such an angelic girl before him to say something like “out of a certain desire”?

No matter how he looked at it, none of this made sense.

However, before Suzuki Yu could ask any questions, he had been pulled straight to the Student Council Room, under the pretense that she had something important to discuss with him.

It could be said that she’d completely taken the initiative.

Just like now, whether it was the atmosphere or the topic of conversation, he couldn’t get a word in edgewise.

All he could do was quietly go along with her:

“That’s true…”

Jingu Tenon’s words weren’t wrong—Suzuki Yu’s name was well-known in the school.

“Because, Suzuki, you’re the only student this year who came from another school.” Tenon gently blew at the steam rising from her coffee, her amber eyes peering at the boy across from her through the curling mist. “As one of Japan’s most prestigious private academies, Aoyama Saint Academy runs an integrated system from elementary all the way through high school.”

She set her cup down, interlaced her fingers, and rested her chin on them, speaking with keen interest: “Among the 175 students in your year, 173 advanced directly from our middle school division. They’ve known each other since childhood. Who belongs to which family, whose parents are influential in what field, even who had a childhood crush on whom—all these things are basically open secrets.”

“That sounds… kind of scary.” Suzuki Yu finally managed to recover his voice a little.

“It is pretty scary.” Tenon chuckled softly. “So in an environment like this, the appearance of a new face naturally attracts everyone’s attention.”

She paused, her gaze sharpening: “Normally, the remaining two slots are reserved for the children of powerful families who return from abroad, or who transfer in due to family reasons. The other…”

Tenon extended a slender finger, tracing a shape in the air: “The other is the so-called Scholarship Student Slot. You have to pass an extremely rigorous entrance exam—written tests, interviews, comprehensive evaluations, multiple rounds of selection. Those who succeed get a full tuition waiver, but each year, the number who pass can be counted on one hand.”

“In some years, not a single person makes it.” Her voice grew softer. “And Suzuki, you were the only one to pass the exam this year.”

“It was just luck, really. The questions on the test just happened to be things I’d practiced before.”

That was a lie. In truth, Suzuki Yu had pushed himself to the brink for the entrance exam—so much so that, at the time, many people thought he’d developed an Addiction to studying.

So, to him, getting into this school was a real accomplishment.

Still, when others brought it up, he had to maintain a sense of humility.

Suzuki Yu lifted his coffee, taking a small sip. The slight bitterness spread across his tongue, making him frown, but he drank it anyway.

“It was a Comprehensive Examination, after all. Calling it luck is a bit of an insult to all the other students who worked hard to get in.”

Jingu Tenon replied with a smile, a flash of appreciation flickering through her amber eyes, though Suzuki Yu didn’t notice.

And now, the Student Council President steered the conversation in another direction:

“By the way, I heard you came to Tokyo from somewhere else, Suzuki? Your family lives outside the city, and now you live alone in a rented apartment here, covering your daily expenses by working part-time?”

“Uh… yes.” The sudden question caught Suzuki Yu off guard. He really had no idea why the Student Council President would pay attention to his circumstances.

But he still answered honestly. At this, Jingu Tenon leaned forward slightly, a mischievous smile playing on her lips as she said:

“Suzuki, you really seem like someone who lets his guard down easily.”

“Huh?”

The unprovoked comment left Suzuki Yu confused. He looked at the girl in front of him and asked,

“I… don’t quite get it?”

“Suzuki, you should take a good look at yourself in the mirror—at your face, at your figure.”

Jingu Tenon’s voice carried a teasing tone. Resting her chin on her hands, she sized him up with interest:

“A well-behaved, good-looking, and well-built boy like you, living alone in Tokyo and working part-time—aren’t you afraid of running into danger?”

“Danger?” Suzuki Yu froze, sensing something wasn’t right.

“That’s right. A boy like you is quite the target for many girls in our school, you know. You really should be more cautious.”

Was this really a problem he needed to worry about as a guy?

Once again, Suzuki Yu’s brain stalled.

He instinctively wanted to refute her, but when the words reached his lips, he found he didn’t know what to say. Logically speaking, what she said did make sense, but still…

“Jingu-senpai, I really don’t think that’s something I need to worry about. I don’t think I’m that fragile…”

Suzuki Yu put down his coffee cup, a hint of resignation in his tone.

“Oh, is that so? But when Shiina Chisa called me before, weren’t you in quite a predicament?”

That made Suzuki Yu fall silent. Clearly, she had figured things out.

The Student Council President continued:

“I know Miss Shiina pretty well. Normally, she’d never call me—or even mention someone else when she does.

“And the first thing out of her mouth was to ask if I’d made a move on you~”

“…What did you say?”

Suzuki Yu hadn’t expected Shiina Chisa to be so direct. He was genuinely curious what Tenon could have said to clear his name.

“I just went along with her—’Yeah, Suzuki really is interesting. I’m quite interested in him.'”

“And then, guess what Shiina said?” Tenon blinked, her smile growing even brighter. “She was silent for a long while, and finally just said, ‘I see,’ before hanging up. But I bet she was panicking at that moment. Suzuki, you really are something—you’ve actually won over Chisa.”

Suzuki Yu could feel a cold sweat breaking out on his back.

Strange—he’d come to apologize to his senpai, so how had the conversation drifted so far off course?

At this moment, Suzuki Yu wanted nothing more than to leave, but he had to hear her out:

“Even though she didn’t say it outright, I can more or less guess the scene. Suzuki, you must have had your freedom restricted at that time, maybe even been interrogated. That makes me very curious about your relationship with her—after all, she is the Shiina Family’s precious jewel.

“So I used a few resources to ‘investigate’ you a bit.”

Hearing this, Suzuki Yu swallowed. So that’s why she knew so much about him—and so quickly, too…

“Suzuki, your romantic history is quite colorful. Could you tell me what exactly ‘Rent-A-Boyfriend’ means?”